Churn



(N Model.)

. R.IMGGAHEY.

K CHUM.

2 sheetssheet 1.

cfm/@w 2z. Mwah?? (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

C.' R. MGGAHEY.

- CHURN.

NO. 544,000. Patented Aug. 6, 1895.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

CALVERT R. MCGAHEY, OF ELKTON, VIRGINIA.

CHURN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 544,000, dated AugustG, 1895.

I Application led March 6, 1894- Serial No. 502,576. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CALvERT R. MCGAHEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Elkton, in the county of Rockingham and State of Virginia,have invented a new and useful Churn, of which the following is aspecification. I Myinvention relates to an improvement iu those churnswherein a series of dashers is joined to a central shaft, and byrotating the shaft the cream is properly agitated; and the principalfeature of the invention lies in an improved arrangement of the flasherswhereby they are made to operate more effectively.

A further feature lies in a peculiar con-4 struction of the dasherblades or dashers proper, so that they are made to act on the cream withmore effect and the churning expedited.

A still further feature is an improvement in the modeof mount-ing themain or central shaft, the object of such feature being to provide adesirable mounting for the shaft, and one which will effectually preventthe passage of cream and other liquid through the bearings. v

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view ofa churn having my improvements applied and showing the casing brokenaway. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the churn complete. Fig. 8 isa detail perspective of one of the dashers, showing its peculiar form.Fig. 4 is a similar view of the lever for supporting one end of the mainshaft and giving to it its tension. Fig. 5 is an enlarged section of themeans for mounting the remaining end of the shaft. Fig. 6 is adiagrammatic plan view showing the operative arrangement of the oppositesets of dashers.

Reference-numeral 1 indicates the body or casing of the churn, which maybe of preferred construction, and which is provided with the lid 2,whereby it may be closed.

3 indicates the main shaft, which extends longitudinally iu the casingand is provided with the round opening 4 at its left-hand end and with asquare opening 5 at the remaining or right-hand end. The opening 4 isadapted for the reception of the stud 6 of the lever 7. Lever 7 isconstructed of a bar of metal pivoted to the block 8, which, in turn,passes through the side of the casing 1 and is secured therein by theshank 9 and nut and washer 10. This connection between block 8 and thecasing is, of course, such that a water-tight joint will be effected.The stud Gis formed integral with the lower end of the lever 7, and isrounded so that it will operate with the shaft 3 to revolubly mount it,while the upper arm of the lever curves outwardly and projects throughthe opening 1l in the side of the casing. AFrom the opening 1l the leverextends outwardly and is. formed with the button or-plate 12 on its end.

Interposed between the button 12 and the outer side of the casing is thespring 13, which gives the bent portion of the lever 7 a normal tendencyoutward, and consequently throws the stud 6 inwardly and'into engagementwith one end of the'shaft 3. Thus the shaft is given a normal tendencyin one direction. The bearing at the other opposite end of the -shaft 3consists of a spindle 14, mounted revolubly in the opening 15 of theplate 16,

' which opening is formed with the flanges 17 on each side thereof,whereby the spindle is given a firm seat, the inner ange 17 being seatedin an opening in the casing 1, while the outer flange projects out fromthe adjacent side of the casing.

The spindle 14 has its inner extremity provided with the circular collaror disk 18, which is of a diameter equal to that-of the flanges 17 andadapted to indirectly engage the inner end 0f the inner flange, therubber gasket 19 being interposed between the two parts. Fixed to theouter end of the 'spindle 14 and and lying in close engagement'with theend of the outer flange 17 is the pinion-gear 20, whereby the spindlevisgiven its movements and whereby the spindle 14 is prevented fromexcessive longitudinal movement, the gear 2O and collar 18 being soarranged that the spindle 14 will be allowed a very slight longitudinalmovement.

Formed on the inner face of the disk or collar 18 and axially coincidentwith the spindle 14 is the tapering stud 2l, which is square incross-section and adapted to enter the opening 5 of one end of the shaft3, whereby the shaft is removably connected to the spindle and in a waywhich will cause the shaft to revolve in unison with the spindle.

From

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this construction it will be seen that the lever 7, actuated by itsspring, will give the shaft 3 a normal endwise tendency toward thespindle 14.-, and that this tendency is, upon the connection of shaftand spindle, communicated to the latter, which will cause the collar 18to bind against the gasket 19, and this will in turn bind against theend of the inner iiange 17. This will effect a communication of themotion of the spindle to the shaft 3 in a Way which will be perfect asto the transmission of the motion, but which will effectually preventthe passage of the cream or whatever liquid may be placed in the casing1, for the spring of lever 7 will operate to continually press the shaft3 and consequently the spindle 14 in one direction and cause the collar18 to bind the gasket 19 against theinner fiange 17, thus closing allopenings which would otherwise occur. It will also be seen that theshaft 3 may be removed by swinging the lever 7 on its fulcrum to movestud 6 away from the adjacent end of the shaft, thus making the removalof the shaft possible, which it will be found desirous to do whencleaning the body or casing 1.

22 indicates the dashers, which are joined to the shaft 3 by the arms23. These arms are passed through the shaft 3 and secured therein attheir centers,adasherbeing affixed to each end, while the arms arepreferably four in number, as shown. Two of the arms 23 extend parallelwith each other and in longitudinal alignment on shaft 3, while theremainingr two extendat right angles to the iirst two and are alsoparallel with each other and in longitudinal alignment with the shaft.Each of the arms 23 are disposed diagonally on the shaft, and the armsof each parallel pair slant in parallel planes. By this construction theends of the arms 23 are placed partly out of circular alignment, and asthe shaft rotates each end travels in its particular path, and this pathis partly distinct from the paths of the remaining arms, whereby thecream is subjected to double the agitation which it receives by armsdisposed at right angles to the shaft, since by this arrangement eachend of the arm travels in the same path.

The dashers 22 are shown in detail in Fig. 3, and consist of integralblocks of wood joined to the arms by diagonal passages, whereby thedashers are located parallel with the shaft and with the body of thecasing 1. Each dasher is formed with a point at its front and rear end,and the front point is formed by the face 2t and face 25, arranged oneon each side thereof and sloping toward each other to form the pointaforesaid. The face 24 curves into the inclined rear face 26, whichextends to a point at one side of the arm 23 and communicates with theplain face 27. This face leads into the inner side or face 25, which iscompoundly curved.

The principal feature of the dasher lies in the face 25, which, beingcurved compoundly, engages the cream and throws it inwardly toward thecenter of the churn, and the dashers of the two arms 23, on one end ofthe shaft, have their faces 25 arranged toward the center of the churnand the dashers of the opposite arms are similarly arranged with theirfaces 25 toward the center of the churn, and since the arms of each pairare in longitudinal alignment the faces 25 will be contiguous to eachother, and as their dashers proceed through the cream these faces th rowthe cream toward each other and .cause it to conflict, thus agitating itin a very effective way and expediting the churning process.

After the butter has formed and it is dcsired to separate it from theresidue (buttermilk) the shaft 3 is turned until one end of each of thearms 23 lies in the lower portion of the casing 1, after which the shaft3 is oscillated about one-eighth of a revolution, which will cause thefaces 25 of each dasher to throw the butter away from them, only to becaught immediately after by the rear face 2G, which throws the creamback to face 25, and so they alternate until the butter is gathered andformed into lumps or balls, and thereby Separated from the buttermilk.

The plate 16 extends upwardly from the opening 15 and is provided with apost 28, which is formed integral with or rigidly secured thereto, andwhich projects out to the right. Mounted upon the post 28 is theinternal gear 29, which meshes with the pinion 20, and by which thepinion and parts in connection therewith are rotated.

30 indicates a hand-crank, which is fixed to the gear 29, and throughthe medium of which the gear is rotated.

In using my improved churn, the body l is filled with cream and the lid2closed, so as to eifectually confine the cream within the body, afterwhich the crank 30 is operated and the shaft 3, in consequence thereof,rotated. This will result in the operation before described, which willreduce the cream to butter. Now the shaft and attached dashere may beoperated to form the butter into lumps or balls, all of which has beendescribed hereinbefore.

It has already been Observed that the inner compoundly-curved sides orfaces 25 of the opposite sets of dashers are disposed toward thevertical center of the churn-body, and by reference to Fig. 6 of thedrawings the peculiar action of these compoundlycurved sides or faces onthe cream will be more easily understood. During the revolutions of theshaft 3 the dashers 22 of each set follow each other in regular order.It is to be particularly noted that each dasher travels partly in thesame circular path as the dasher immediately in advance thereof, and,furthermore, that the disposition of each set of arms 23 disposes thedashers 22 in what may be termed a spiral or step order, in which eachfollowing dasher is nearer toward the vertical center of the churn-bodythan the dasher in advance thereof. Now with this arrangement of thedashers in mind it is thought that the operA IOO IIO

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ation thereof will be clearer. Remembering that the innercompoundly-curved faces of the opposite sets of dashers are disposedtoward each other and toward the vertical center of the churn-body, itwill be understood that as the dashers are carried through the cream thesaid compoundly-curved faces will grasp the same and tend to throw ittoward thevertical center of the churn-body, and at the saine time, byreason of the double or compound curvature of said faces, the cream willbe thrown toward the vertical center of the churn-bodyin eddies orwhirlpools, which are induced by the particular curvature of the innerfaces of the dashers, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 6 of thedrawings. Furthermore, each succeeding dasher moves the cream a stepnearer toward the vertical center of the churn-body than the dasherlimmediately in front of the same, so that the cream is caught up by thedashers one after the other, and the only interruption of this agitationof the cream toward the vertical center of the churnbody is at the endof the series of churn-dashers, when the same operation is repeated.

An additional function is to be noted for the dashers or dasher-blocks22, and that is,

.` by reason of the specific shape of said dashers,

the same form cups that carry air down into the cream so as to aeratethe Same. This op# eration will be accomplished by the said dashers,inasmuch as it is understood that the dashers are not entirely submergedin the cream, which only partly fills the churn body, and, therefore, asthe dasher-shaft is rapidly rotated the said dashers must necessarilycarry a certain amount of air in their concaved sides .when the sameenter the cream.

Having described my invention, what I claim isn 1. -A churn, comprisingthe combination of a body-portion, a dasher-shaft therein, a leverpivoted to the body and adjacent to one end of the shaftand to Which oneend of the lever is revolubly connected, a spring actuating theremaining arm of the lever, whereby it is kept in engagement With theshaft and the shaft given a normal endwise tendency, a spindle connectedto the remaining end of the shaft and pressed cndwise thereby, thespindle having an enlargement thereon and adapted to be pressed againstthe body of the churn, whereby a Water-tight bearing is formed, andmeans connected to the spindle by which it can be rotatedv and thedasher-shaft operated in consequence thereof, substantially asdescribed.

2. The herein described churn dasher comprising a horizontal shaft,opposite sets of dasherI arms fitted to the shaft and disposeddiagonally thereto, the dasher arms of each set being arranged inparallel planes to each other, and dasher blocks fitted to the outerends of said arms, each of said dasher blocks being arranged spirally totravel partlyin'the same circular path as the dasher block immediatelyin advance thereof, substantially as set forth.

3. The herein described churn dasher comprising a shaft, opposite setsofl dasher' arms disposed diagonally to the shaft, thediagonal arms ofeach set being arranged in parallel planes, and the dasher blocks ttedto the outer ends of said arms and provided with inner compoundly curvedfaces disposed toward the center of the churn body in which the dasheris placed, said dasher blocks being arranged in a spiral ordersuccessively nearer toward the vertical center of the churn body andeach arranged to travel partly in the same circular path as the dasherblock immediately in advance thereof, substantially as set forth.

4. A churn dasher comprising a shaft, dasher arms fitted to the shaft,and dasher blocks fitted diagonally to the outer ends of said arms andprovided with inner Vcompoundly curved faces 25, inclined straight rearfaces 26, outer'straight faces 24 merging into one end of the compoundlycurved inner faces and curving into the inclined straight rear faces 26,and plain faces 27 formed at one end of the faces 25 and 26,substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

CALVERT R. MCGAHEY.

Witnesses:

J. B. MCGAHEY, CHARLEs O. BLACK.

